I’m grateful to David Beilby for a copy of the original monochrome image from the GEC archives on which this digitally-coloured version is based. This was one of two 74-seat streamlined tramcars (fleet numbers 138/9) built by English Electric in 1940 on EMB lightweight bogies. A further 20 followed in the early post-war years but, as English Electric had stopped building tram bodies, they were bodied in the same style by RY Pickering. Claimed at the time to be ‘the last word in trams, the best yet made and ahead of Glasgow’s Coronation trams’, they were not destined to have long lives. The Aberdeen system closed in May 1958 and, after failed attempts to sell these modern trams to Glasgow and Blackpool, they were burned at the Sea Beach terminus. For further archive images, I can commend David’s excellent photo collection at davidbeilby.zenfolio.com (09-Sep-22).
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Tags: Aberdeen Corporation Tramways English Electric Tram
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This has been a much requested livery and I am very happy with the result, with the exception of the rather poor representation of a bow collector (which I hope to improve in due course). Aberdeen did indeed acquire a batch of 20 streamlined centre-entrance, double-deck trams, but not to this body style. It claimed at the time that 'the new vehicles are the last word in trams .. they are the best yet made, ahead of Glasgow's Coronation trams'. They were later acknowledged to have a limited route availability and high power consumption, but lasted until the system closed in 1958 (08-Dec-12).
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Tags: English Electric Tram Aberdeen Corporation Transport
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Whilst there's no historical precedence for this English Electric Railcoach, the streamlined livery fits well with Aberdeen's post-war trams, which were based on prototypes built by English Electric. This fictional image is based on an original view of Blackpool number 11 photographed at Beamish Museum by David Little. It would be nice to see Aberdeen livery re-created on one of the many preserved former Blackpool trams in the same way as the splendid Sunderland 101 (29-Mar-13).
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Tags: British Tram Aberdeen Corporation Transport English Electric Railcoach
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This image is based on a poor quality original taken on Blackpool promenade in the mid-1980s, depicting preserved Glasgow Corporation Cunarder 1297. There is a tenuous link between Aberdeen, Blackpool and Glasgow. Despite the apparent rivalry between the two Scottish undertakings (see comments under Aberdeen 'Balloon' tram), Aberdeen approached Glasgow with a view to the latter constructing its production batch of streamlined trams.
Whilst this wasn't to be, the resultant trams (built by a third party) nevertheless had an uncanny resemblance to Glasgow's own streamlined trams - the most noticeable difference being that Aberdeen's had centre entrances. When its system closed in 1958, Aberdeen tried unsuccessfully to sell the streamliners, firstly to Glasgow and then to Blackpool (08-Dec-12).
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Tags: Cunader Tram Aberdeen Corporation Transport
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I had already mocked-up a fictional Lytham St Annes version of this 'Balloon' tram when I was asked to consider Belfast Corporation, which used a similar livery. Belfast's last tramcars, fifty modern four-wheelers, were delivered from English Electric at Preston in 1935. The system closed in 1954, after gaining a temporary reprieve during the wartime years (23-Sep-12).
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Tags: English Electric tram Belfast Corporation Tramways
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